Far from just being Harry Bosch,Titus Welliveris one of Hollywood’s most experienced and reliable actors, having delivered a vast array of memorable performances in television and film. He’s also anoted fan of superhero comics, which led tohis all-too-brief role as Lex Luthorin HBO Max’s DC Comics adaptation,Titans. Before that, Welliver also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, first in a little-known short film and then in the ABC TV seriesAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.and, while his role in the latter was similarly small,his character does undergo a drastic change between his last two episodes that allowed Welliver to show some of his range,while adding further layers to one of the series’ strongest and most important long-term storylines.
Who Did Titus Welliver Play in the MCU?
Welliver played Felix Blake, one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents referred to in the show’s title, and first appeared inItem 47, one of theMarvel One-Shotsshort films included in home media releases of the MCU’s early movies.Item 47was included with select copies ofThe Avengersand takes place after the events of that film. It focuses on a civilian couple finding one of the firearms used by the alien Chitauri army after the Avengers stopped their attack on New York City. The couple begins using the powerful weapon to rob banks, only to be tracked down and neutralized by Blake and fellow agent Jasper Sitwell (Maximiliano Hernández), who, as most fans will likely remember, is later revealed to be a Hydra mole. Rather than arresting the couple, Blake and Sitwell recruit them into S.H.I.E.L.D. TheOne-Shotsin general, andItem 47in particular, foreshadowed theS.H.I.E.L.D.series, with many of the show’s early episodes focusing on similar investigations connected to the aftermath of MCU movies.
Blake made his first appearance on the series in one such episode, which happens to be one of the most important and effective of the show’s early installments. Season 1, Episode 6, “FZZT” sees him working with Phil Coulson’s (Clark Gregg) hand-picked team to investigate an alien virus that is spreading among firefighters who responded to the Chitauri attack. Although Coulson’s team eventually surmises that the virus was caused by the firefighters’ contact with a Chitauri helmet, they do not do so before one of their own, biochemistry expert Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), is infected.
The team, especially Simmons and her best friend, engineer Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), work desperately to develop a cure but don’t realize they were successful in doing so until Simmons has already hurled herself from their airplane base to prevent the virus’ spread, forcing Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) to perform a midair rescue while simultaneously administering the cure.The threat to Simmons deepened the bonds between their characters, which proved to be critical as the story became more complex later in the season, and is arguably the first instance in which Simmons and the other younger characters are similarly nuanced and compelling as Coulson and his fellow veteran agent, Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen).
This ‘Agents of ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Storyline Connects to ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’
Although Blake’s inclusion has little to do with “FZZT”’s strengths, the episode does establish him as a likable, light-hearted ally for the main team. His return in the sixteenth episode of Season 1 further demonstrates these qualities and features his most compelling moment,when he attempts to appeal to the humanity of Mike Peterson/Deathlok(J. August Richards), an innocent man who is physically controlled by a criminal organization through cyborg enhancements —even while Mike is forced to attack him and May. Blake manages to covertly attach a tracking device to Mike before being incapacitated, allowing Coulson and company to continue their investigation. This eventually leads them to discover Hydra’s infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. roughly the same time as Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) in the filmCaptain America: The Winter Soldier.
Felix Blake Takes a Dark Turn on ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’
Although he survives Mike’s attack,Welliver’s Blake isn’t seen again until Season 3, by which point he’s undergone a radical, dark transformation. His injuries left him paralyzed and this, in turn, has led him to hate all superhumans,with Coulson discovering that his former friend is now one of the leaders of the Watchdogs, a terrorist organization that hunts and kills superhumans. (Especially the Inhumans who received powers due to ancient alien experimentation.) Although Blake is still at large and involved with the Watchdogs at the end of his single episode as a villain, he does not reappear, with the group operating under different leaders in Season 4.
Still seeing a formerly earnest character who was an ally to Coulson and company against the Hydra infiltration turn into a ruthless bigot was effectively disturbing, a sadly realistic depiction of how personal tragedy can warp one’s thinking and morals, leading them to adopt prejudiced beliefs. The introduction of the Inhumans and the public’s often frightened, discriminatory reaction to themwas one ofS.H.I.E.L.D.’s strongest series-long arcs, and, along with similar storylines from other Marvel properties likeJessica Jones, emphasized the franchise’s proficiency at using superhumans to tell stories about prejudice, long before it regained the rights to the X-Men mythology. Maybe Titus Welliver can return in some way to the MCU’s multiverse?
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
